Ragda-Patties Night....

Another creation from K.....this time, it is Ragda-Patties, an almost chaat like concoction that is full of flavor and kicks! I made the potato petis and baked them instead of shallow frying them in all that oil. This is also my entry for dear Pooja's Vegetable of the week.
K is an expert at making this ragdo, and so he offered to make this again last night, here is his very simple but a delicious recipe:

Ingredients:
For the beans:
2 cups yellow or white dried peas- soaked for 6 hours and cooked until soft, 1 medium Onion-chopped, Ginger-Garlic- Jalapeno- paste, 1 large tomato, garam masala, salt, turmeric powder, sugar to taste. You can also use tamarind for an extra pungent flavor.

For the tempering:
oil, cinnamon stick, jeera seeds and hing (asafoetida).

For the Patties: potatoes- cooked and mashed, cilantro, 1 cup cooked green peas, roasted cumin powder, salt, sugar, ginger-garlic-jalapeno paste,2 tbsp- breadcrumbs. Set the rest of the breadcrumbs aside to coat the potatoes.

For Garnish and sides: Finely chopped red onions, peppers, cilantro, tamarind chutney, green cilantro chutney, hot sauce, yogurt.

Soak the beans in hot water for atleast 6 hours, and cook them in the pressure cooker until soft.
In a deep pan, heat some oil, add jeera seeds,cinnamon stick and the hing. Add the onions and the GGJ paste. Stir until the raw smell is gone from the garlic. Add the peas and enough water to cover the beans. This bean mixture should not be too thick or too thin. Add the rest of the spices and let it boil until the desired taste and consistency is reached.

For the Potatoes: In a bowl, mix the potatoes and peas together. Add the spices and mix well. Add the breadcrumbs and form into a ball. The potatoes should be fairly dry or the patties will fall apart.
To form all uniform shaped patties, I have a great tip: Use an ice cream scoop. Scoop out the potato mixture and form into patties,and coat each of them with breadcrumbs. See picture of K holding the scooped patty and the formed patties in the background.
Place each of the patty on an aluminum foiled tray. Bake for 45 minutes at 350F. Halfway through, turn each patty over so it is cooked evenly. During the last few minutes of baking, turn the broiler on to give each patties a nice brown crust.

To assemble: Put two patties in a bowl, drizzle the bean mixture on top, top off with onions, chutneys and yogurt. Enjoy!

Another thing I would like to share is this food blog I came across recently, written by a very enthusiastic 17 year old..yep, she's 17, and her love for all things Indian is evident....do check out Jenni's Blog. It is a delight to see such a young person so interested in cooking healthy meals for her family.